Faculty of Agriculture

The Faculty of Agriculture started in the year 1958, has contributed significantly during the last five academic years (2007-08 to 2011-12). The Faculty comprises Nine Departments and one divisions, with 238 teaching staff and 2646 students in total. (The teacher student ratio is 1:11). The unique feature of this faculty is that it offers B.Sc. (Ag.) and B.Sc. (Horti.) programmes as undergraduate courses, where in all the nine departments and one division join hands and share the credit loads of the programmes as outlined by ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research). Besides these two undergraduate progrmmes, that are common for the faculty, individual departments offer post-graduate and Ph.D programmes independently. One highest research degree viz. Doctor of Science that is offered by the University for superior Post Doctoral research was offered in the Department of Agronomy in 2009. Different departments of this Faculty offered 134 Ph.D degrees during this last five year period.

The research grants generated from various funding agencies in these departments works out to Rs. 19.34 crores. The Faculty has also obtained a patent from DST, New Delhi and submitted one rice variety and one technology for release by the Government of Tamilnadu for adoption by it's farmers. The prestigious National Agricultural Innovation Project funded by ICAR and World Bank to a tune of Rs. 9.45 crores has substantially raised the livelihoods of 2400 farming households in four disadvantaged districts of Tamilnadu viz., Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Villupuram and Thiruvannamalai. This project was adjudged as the best among 36 Sustainable Rural Livelihood Projects implemented across the country by ICAR. Faculty has a unique academic collaboration with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Agriculture (Erstwhile Nova Scotia Agriculture College), Canada for a dual degree programme. Students have to take six semesters in Annamalai University Faculty of Agriculture and three semesters in Dalhousie University, Canada so as to get two degrees simultaneously viz., B.Sc.(Ag.) from Annamalai University and B.Tech. Landscape Horticulture from Dalhousie, Canada. During 2011-12, three students from Annamalai University have gone to Canada, in this programme. Global farm research premiers like FAO, IRRI and USDA collaborate with different departments of this Faculty. Two of departments Genetics and Plant Breeding and Agronomy are identified by UGC for SAP Level 1 and six departments viz., Agronomy, Entomology, Microbiology, Horticulture, Genetics & Plant Breeding and Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry have been receiving FIST grant from DST, Government of India.